Keeping standards high

Good coaches produce good footballers and effective teams and this benefits the development of the game – UEFA's coach education endeavours are helping to ensure that the quality of coaching throughout Europe remains at a constantly high standard.

Lisbon course
The 17th UEFA Course for Coach Educators takes place in Lisbon/Cascais, Portugal throughout the whole of this week. UEFA's national associations will be sending participants to this coaching event in the form of an association staff coach/educator who is responsible for the training of coaches and who is in a position to disseminate information to coach education colleagues. The coach educators will return home with new information and ideas that will not only contribute towards the education of student coaches, but will also provide material for further education courses.

Practical and theoretical
The course will feature practical and theoretical work, as well as panel discussions and working groups. "Coach education is very important for UEFA," said the European body's technical director Andy Roxburgh. "If you educate good coaches, they in turn help to improve the level of football. So each country is enthusiastic about the training of its coaches." UEFA's football development division holds a variety of events to assist the directors and staff of the European countries' educational programmes.

Regular meetings
"We bring them together on a regular basis," Roxburgh added. "The idea is for them to exchange ideas and to offer interesting presentations and sessions which will provoke further debate. We try to provide them with a stimulating learning environment. There's always an argument as to whether good players are born, or whether they are made. The answer is probably a combination of both – if someone has a talent, then a talented coach can bring out the best in them."

Jira panel
The UEFA course will be preceded on Monday by a meeting of the Jira panel, which will focus on the latest developments within the UEFA Convention on the Mutual Recognition of Coaching Qualifications, that is UEFA Coaching Licences. The Jira Panel supports the Development and Technical Assistance Committee in its work and advises UEFA, UEFA member associations, clubs and third parties on coach education matters, as well as contributing to the implementation of the Coaches Convention.

Free movement
The convention's objective is to protect the coaching profession and smooth the way for the free movement of qualified coaches within Europe in accordance with European law. UEFA also promotes the exchange of coach education and encourages its 53 member associations to share technical knowledge with the overall benefit of European football in mind. Currently, 52 of the 53 associations are members of the convention – 38 at all three levels including Pro, 12 at A and B levels, and two at B level – while UEFA's newest association, Montenegro, is also involved in the evaluation process. Almost 159,000 coaches in Europe have UEFA-endorsed licences.